Microsoft has been granted a patent for a sudo command, because apparently you can patent a command that goes back to the mainframe days as long as you explain that it's a "personalized version" with a GUI.

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Groklaw has an explanation of the history of sudo and details about the patent, but it all boils down to this: Someone at the US Patent Office must've been snoozing when they approved this patent application. Either that or the command worked on a person. [USPTO via Groklaw]